Broussonetia plant named ‘Jinhudie’

ABSTRACT

‘Jinhudie’ is a distinctive variety of  Broussonetia  Plant, which is characterized by its color of leaves.

Genus and species: Broussonetia L'Hér. ex Vent.

Variety denomination: ‘Jinhudie’.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a new and distinct variety ofBroussonetia plant, which is given the varietal denomination of‘Jinhudie’.

In April 2006, a mutated Broussonetia naturally occurring whole plantwas found among Broussonetia seedlings in a nursery at Chuxu Village,Suiping County, Henan Province, China. Leaf margins of the mutatedBroussonetia plant were golden in spring, yellow in summer and golden inautumn, while leaf centers were light green in spring, and dark green insummer as well as autumn. However, leaves of other known seedlings inthe same nursery were green. Since the main breeding material of thisvariety is branches and buds, branches of mutated were then grafted inspring and the mutated plant was reproduced by budding with xylem.

In April 2007, the mutated Broussonetia plant was grafted with arootstock of a wild Broussonetia plant and branches of the mutated plantin the same nursery. According to observation, in spring, leaf marginsof new-born plant were golden while leaf centers were green. In summer,leaves turned to slight yellow-green with blackish green spots. Inautumn, the leaf margins were orange-yellow while leaf centers wereyellow-green. All character were stable. In the nursery, except for somespecies of maple, there were no other varieties. The nursery hasexcellent land, smooth drainage, and no pollution sources around. Thenursery is closed with only one entrance. Average summer maximumtemperature at the nursery is 38 degrees Celsius, and average winterminimum temperature is −6 degrees Celsius. Annual average rainfall is800 mm.

In spring 2008, the grafted plant was asexually reproduced by graftingand cottage. Characteristics thereof were all kept.

From 2009-2013, after generations of reproducing, no atavism or furthermutation was observed. Characteristics of the distinct variety were keptstable.

The new and distinct variety of Broussonetia plant is not commerciallyavailable.

SUMMARY OF THE NEW VARIETY

‘Jinhudie’ is a bud mutation of Broussonetia plant with wide deciduousleaves, whose crown is extended and is oval-shaped or wide oval-shaped.Bark of ‘Jinhudie’ is smooth, light gray or grayish brown, and withoutcracking. The whole plant contains milk-like sap. Young branches aredensely covered with fine hairs. Single-leaves, which grow alternatelyand sometimes almost oppositely, are thick papery. The leaves areoval-shaped or wide oval-shaped with acute apexes. Bases of the leavesare rounded, subcordate or skewed. The leaves have serrated margins, andhave no crack or 3-5 cracks (more obvious on young branches). Uppersurfaces of the leaves are rough and covered with hard hairs. Lowersurfaces of the leaves are covered with soft hairs. There are 7-8 pairsof lateral veins. In spring, leaf margins are golden (RHS YELLOW 6C-A)while leaf centers are green (RHS GREEN 140B-A or 141C-A). In summer,leaves turned to slight yellow-green (RHS YELLOW-GREEN N144D-A) withblackish green spots (RHS GREEN 140B-A or 141C-A). In autumn, the leafmargins were orange-yellow (RHS YELLOW 9C-A) while leaf centers wereyellow-green (RHS GREEN 140B-A or 141C-A). Crown expends to be ovate tobroadly ovate. Bark is smooth. The leaves alternate and sometimes nearlyopposite, and are ovate to broadly ovate, wherein a front end portion isacute while a base portion is ovate, subcordate or oblique. Petioleslong 3-5 cm, and are densely covered with thick hairs. Stipules areovate or oblong, and caduceus. Flowers are female. Polythalamic fruitsare spherical. Mature fruits are orange-red (RHS ORANGE-RED 30D-A) withnodules thereon. Florescence is from April to May while fruiting fromAugust to September.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying colored photographs illustrate the overall appearanceof the new and distinct variety of ‘Jinhudie’. The descriptionsdisclosed herein are based upon observations of the plant growth.

FIG. 1 is a color photograph of the new invention, ‘Jinhudie’, showing a2-year plant in the field on Apr. 10, 2010, which is grafted in 2008.

FIG. 2 is a color photograph of the new invention, ‘Jinhudie’, showingstem of a 3-year plant on Jun. 2, 2011, which is grafted in 2008.

FIG. 3 is a color photograph of the new invention, ‘Jinhudie’, showingleaves of a 5-month plant in august, which is cut in summer, 2012.

FIG. 4 is a color photograph of the new invention, ‘Jinhudie’, showingleaves of a 3-year plant on Oct. 23, 2011, which is grafted in 2008.

FIG. 5 is a color photograph of the invention, ‘Jinhudie’, showing theappearance of flowers of a 2-year plant on May 6, 2012.

FIG. 6 is a color photograph of the invention, ‘Jinhudie’, showing theappearance of fruits of a 2-year plant on Jun. 1, 2010.

FIG. 7 is a color photograph of the invention, ‘Jinhudie’, showing theappearance of fruits of a 4-year plant on Jul. 13, 2012.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

‘Jinhudie’ is a bud mutation of Broussonetia plant with wide deciduousleaves, whose crown is extended and is oval-shaped or wide oval-shaped.Bark of ‘Jinhudie’ is smooth, light gray or grayish brown, and withoutcracking. The whole plant contains milk-like sap. Young branches aredensely covered with fine hairs. Single-leaves, which grow alternatelyand sometimes almost oppositely, are thick papery. The leaves areoval-shaped or wide oval-shaped with acute apexes. Bases of the leavesare rounded, subcordate or skewed. The leaves have serrated margins, andhave no crack or 3-5 cracks (more obvious on young branches). Uppersurfaces of the leaves are rough and covered with hard hairs. Lowersurfaces of the leaves are covered with soft hairs. There are 7-8 pairsof lateral veins. In spring, leaf margins are golden (RHS YELLOW 6C-A)while leaf centers are green (RHS GREEN 140B-A or 141C-A). In summer,leaves turned to slight yellow-green (RHS YELLOW-GREEN N144D-A) withblackish green spots (RHS GREEN 140B-A or 141C-A). In autumn, the leafmargins were orange-yellow (RHS YELLOW 9C-A) while leaf centers wereyellow-green (RHS GREEN 140B-A or 141C-A). Crown expends to be ovate tobroadly ovate. Bark is smooth. The leaves alternate and sometimes nearlyopposite, and are ovate to broadly ovate, wherein a front end portion isacute while a base portion is ovate, subcordate or oblique. Petioleslong 3-5 cm, and are densely covered with thick hairs. Stipules areovate or oblong, and caduceus. Flowers are female. Polythalamic fruitsare spherical. Mature fruits are orange-red (RHS ORANGE-RED 30D-A) withnodules thereon. Florescence is from April to May while fruiting fromAugust to September.

‘Jinhudie’ is a distinctive variety of Broussonetia plant, which is ableto grow in north, center, south, southwest, and northwest of China,mainly in the Yellow River area, the Yangtze River area and the PearlRiver Basin area. The plant grows better in the south of China.

‘Jinhudie’ is a strong phototropism tree species, whose adaptability isparticularly strong. The plant has strong resistance to dry-cold and dryand damp-hot climates, and is able to grow in acidic soil, neutral soiland limestone mountain area due to resistance to drought and barren. Theplant grows well at both waterside and wetlands. Roots of the plant areshallow and lateral, which are widely distributed and rapidly grow.‘Jinhudie’ has strong abilities in budding and tillering, with strongresistance to pruning and pollution.

Reproducing methods of ‘Jinhudie’ are mainly graft and cottage. Forgrafting, whip, cleft and budding (with xylem) are mainly used, whiletillering and laying reproducing are also acceptable. For grafting,new-born Broussonetia plant is used as a rootstock. In spring, cleft orbudding with xylem should be adapted for reproducing. In summer,large-square budding is used for reproducing. For cottage, young summerbranches are mainly used, wherein half-xylem young branches with alength of 10-15 cm are cut and inserted into seedling device. With afull-light cottage technology, rooting is extremely fast.

Specifically, branch-graft in spring has a highest survival rate. Everyyear, in March or before ‘Jinhudie’ is budded, branches born that yearare selected. The branches are cut into about 5 cm long, and bottoms arechamfered, which contains 2-3 buds. Next, the rootstock (with aroughness of between 0.7-1) is cut off flatly, and then vertically cutnear one side. The graft material is aligned with one side of therootstock layer, clamped, and wrapped with a graft plastic film, whereinthe buds are left outside. After new leaves are grown, green branches ofcommon species are removed from the rootstocks, so as to the branches of‘Jinhudie’ grow rapidly. After the plant grows to 2 meters high, it isplanted at a row spacing of 3 meters*4 meters. After 3-4 years, trunksof ‘Jinhudie’ can grow to a diameter of 8 cm and can be used in greeningof parks or scenic spots.

‘Jinhudie’ can be cultivated and rapidly grow in both spring and autumn.During growth, trimming is needed. The plant is not suitable for growingat low areas which are like to suffer water logging.

‘Jinhudie’ is particularly adaptable, and resistant of dry, cold, hotand humid climates. The plant can grow in acid soil, neutral soil andlimestone mountains, with resistant to drought and thinness. The plantgrows well in low-water wetlands.

‘Jinhudie’ rarely suffers from pests and diseases. However, in someparticular regions having trunk-attacking pests such as longhornedbeetles and jewel beetles, preventing is needed.

TABLE 1 comparison between ‘Jinhudie’ and similar species. similarfeatures of similar species species features of ‘Jinhudie’ paperdioecism female mulberry single color complex color young leaf is mainlyyoung leaf is mainly yellow green no secondary color secondary color isgreen no distribution of secondary color is distributed secondary colorat center

These features and other characteristics of the plant are apparent fromthe figures.

What is claimed is:
 1. A new and distinct variety of Broussonetia Plantnamed ‘Jinhudie’, substantially as described and illustrated.